Thanks Yahoo Tech News!
This is a situation where I don't feel any remorse. The Pirates are the only ones who are being affected (from what I understand) if they don't like it, they should buy a legal version.

Yeah, tough to feel bad for them when they're using pirated copies (I especially like the quote "It's a crime". Karma's a bitch, ain't it?)
While there is an argument that the price of the software is too high for the average Schmoe in places like China, there's still little sympathy from me when they're using pirated software.

c'mon full versions or student versions (not clear which) of office 2k7 is only like $29 dollars there.

My question is, are those people who bought a pirated copy of Windows really aware that they are getting a pirated copy? The article references the fact that PCs in China are sold pre-loaded with pirated software and the retail store they mentioned even has signs up that might make a consumer think they are getting legit software. If piracy is really that prevalent in China, the public must lose all concept of what a legit copy actually costs or how to get a legit copy in the first place. Don't get me wrong, I'm not defending piracy at all, but if all there is available to buy is pirated software, are the people who may have innocently bought it really to blame?

In a country where the average yearly income is about 5000 US dollars, that's probably a lot of money.

I too do not feel too sorry for the folks that have pirated XP and are having their screen backround go black. But, when Vista launched, there were thousands (yes, thousands) of people who had legitimate, legally purchased copies of Vista that failed authentication.
Just makes ya wonder...

That is true, and I can see how that would be frustrating, but I don't know exactly how these products are marketed to the customer. Here, it's fairly easy to tell when you're getting yourself a pirated copy of a piece of software, the box looks different, etc.. (I'd like to thank Capitalism for the Quality of Products that are sold in America..) it may be the same case there, in which case I still offer no remorse to these people. Whether or not you bought it, doesn't mean is necessarily a legal copy, and you should (as a consumer) verify what you're getting is the correct item, prior to purchasing. However, if it was the case that the marketing was actually quite clever, then I do offer my sympathies to those who were affected.
Well in comparison to how much it was previously there (upwards around $300) I think that's a VAST improvement.

In the 'western world' piracy is the exception, but in asia it is the norm. If you had never seen a legit copy of windows XP on the shelf, how would you know a pirated version looks different?
I hope MS doesnt push the black screen outside of China. The stupid activations limit forced me to crack my legit XP or otherwise I would have to call up MS every time i formatted and convince them im not a pirate.

You don't even have to crack it if all you're doing is reformatting on the same machine. All you need to do is copy the two authentication files to disc/USB stick/floppy/whatever and reinstall them after you reformat.

What would they be and how much less than 1% of users would even know?
I'm serious on both counts.

The two files are found in the %systemroot%system32 folder. They're named wpa.dbl and wpa.bak .
You can find info on how to do it Here
As to how many people would know... I've no idea.

It's already outside of China, it's been a part of the "Windows Genuine Advantage" validation check for a few years now.
As for being "forced" to crack your legit copy, that is just ridiculous. Even if you didn't do what Coelocanth suggested, getting your copy reactivated is a five minute call (at most) to MS. I have either reformatted or replaced my motherboard dozens of times on the same PC with a single copy of XP and have never had to "convince" MS of anything. All I've ever had to do is tell them "I replaced my mobo" or "I did a reformat/reinstall" and they happily give me a new activation code without any hassle.

When i was in china a few years back there were NO legitimate copies of anything available. Any game/dvd/music shops i went into were selling ONLY pirate copies.
Image if everyone in your town had bought windows from the shops in town (the only ones available, or affordable) and then suddenly they all got turned off...
Anyway, I still treasure my "Best of Bryan and Adam" cd...

The problem still lies with the consumer, because if the consumer says 'alright, i'll buy a pirated copy.' it puts no motivation into stores to sell legal copies.
the demand has to be there for legal copies.